Kyocera Completes Car Port "Solar Grove"

San Diego, California [RenewableEnergyAccess.com]
Rooftop solar photovoltaic (PV) projects can be one of the quickest and easiest ways to get as many solar panels as possible facing the sun. Those big projects, however, and the effort behind them, can often be hidden from plain sight where they could otherwise help promote the solar project owner's commitment and the technology approach itself. Shaded solar car-ports offer a solution.

"By installing this very attractive system on a Kyocera facility, we are setting a new benchmark for commercial PV installations, and leading San Diego into the solar age."
- Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar

One of the latest examples comes from Kyocera solar, which held a public dedication for a new 235 kW PV system located at their North American Headquarters in San Diego. The company is calling the system a "Solar Grove", with each of 25 separate PV arrays akin to trees which act to shade the vehicles while thriving off the sunlight.
The system's 25 "solar trees" form a carport in an employee parking lot, using a total of 1,400 Kyocera KC-187G solar PV modules and 200 custom-manufactured, light-filtering PV modules. A total of 186 vehicles gain respite from the sun, while the project generates up to 421,000 kWh per year -- the equivalent to the electrical needs of 68 typical San Diego homes.
"The Solar Grove will serve as a symbol of Kyocera's goal to make the San Diego/Tijuana region an important hub in North America's solar energy industry," said the company. "Its unique concept models the life process of natural trees by converting sunlight into energy without adding carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases to the atmosphere -- while providing structures that are both shade-producing and aesthetically pleasing.
Kyocera commissioned the architecture firm of Tucker Sadler to design the Solar Grove, under the direction of its CEO and Principal, Robert Noble.
"We chose an architectural firm with an environmental philosophy similar to that of Kyocera," said Arthur Nishioka, Planning and Development Group manager at Kyocera International, Inc. "Tucker Sadler has demonstrated an abiding interest in preserving the environment by designing buildings that emphasize sustainability through efficient energy consumption, conservation and recycling."
As with all projects in California, state rebates help knock the cost of the installation down. The project was supported by California Public Utilities Commission's "Self Generation Incentive Program," which will cover approximately 36 percent of the system's purchase and installation costs; as well as federal and state tax credits, and a five-year accelerated depreciation schedule.
Kyocera anticipates that the Solar Grove will pay for itself within 12 years.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Power Profiler, generating 421,000 kWh per year through conventional fossil fuel resources would annually release 338,905 pounds of carbon dioxide, a suspected contributor to global warming; 421 pounds of nitrous oxide, which has been linked to the destruction of the Earth's ozone layer; and 253 pounds of sulfur dioxide, the principal contributor to acid rain.
"The economic viability of PV systems and their positive impact on our environment represent a significant opportunity for businesses throughout California," said Steve Hill, president of Kyocera Solar, Inc. "By installing this very attractive system on a Kyocera facility, we are setting a new benchmark for commercial PV installations, and leading San Diego into the solar age."

Combine usage of other natural resorces with solar or wind and you can make economic sense out of a situation that makes little sense otherwise.

A "Solar Grove" that not only supplies electricity but provides shade in a parking lot is an excellent example.

The parking lot was going to built anyway. It also provides shelter for cars that take enough beating from sun and rain. I would much rather have a covered parking space.

Premium parking such as this is also almost always next to a power user. That is called distributed usage.

If Walmart, CA State, Home Depot, etc. put up "Solar Groves" for their "Prefered" customers and got power and tax breaks for doing it we would go a long way towards the best of both worlds. Beauty and Power.

I really don't know why anyone still mounts PV in a horizontal plane. After two years of observing a 110kw system we did in Sacramento with flat modules I would never do it again. The filth, dust,and bird droppings, not to mention the water spotting and pooling reduce power output by no less than a solid 20%. That's in addition to what is lost due to the poor average incident angle. Most of the Powerlite systems I have seen that are mounted flat also suffer unacceptable losses. Not a good design practice.

Many have been the times that I have thought of such a project. A Solar South facing hillside coverd with tracking PV arrays. More of a Solar Orchard if you will. Harvesting a fruit not of sugary flesh but a fruit of electrons. Indeed I would imagine that I am not alone. That thousands of people from all walks of life have shared this vision in one form or another. But alas, who has millions of dollars to invest in such a project?
It has been written that the cost of a PV system to power ones home is the equivilent of purchasing a lifetime of electricity from a power company that burns coal. How fortunate that must be for somebody. I dont see that its the homeowner.
Forgive me. Was that inappropriate?
When is the price of PV modules going to start coming back down? Or will it rise with the cost of electricity from coal burning power plants?

Tom,
If the USA used the money for the Iraq war to build wind / solar electric generation facilities the amount of electric would equil the amount generated by ALL of the nuclear plants in the USA. Iraq war costs = $200,000,000,000.oo with another 12 years (acording to Rumsfield). BUT then those contracting buddies wouldn't be able to steal you tax dollars. The GAO reported $6,000,000,000.oo MISSING to date??? Oops acounting FUBAR! $200 billion could build 100 giga-watts of solar or near 200 giga-watts of wind generation.

What would have been better for the great USA? Iraq or free-NON poluting power generation???
Ask a GOP = IRAQ
Ask someone who thinks for themself = free power.